Ms. Wheelchair Washington Program: Ms. Wheelchair Washington’s May Birthday Celebration Held on May 16th

It has been a strange coincidence that all 4 Ms. Wheelchair Washington’s from 2006 to 2009, all have May birthdays. This also includes Elaine Stefanowicz, who was Ms. Wheelchair Washington in 1996, who then went on to become Ms. Wheelchair America in 1997. If anyone is interested in applying to be a contestant in the 2010 Ms. Wheelchair Washington Pageant, and you were not born in May, don’t let this scare you off- anyone can apply, as I said before just a coincidence
We had a great day on Saturday May 16th! We started the day off with a reporter from the West Seattle Herald, come and interview us all (link to article to below), then we had, Vivian Bell a wonderful Mary Kay Consultant come and give up facials and beauty tips!!

The weather was great, we were all dressed to our best, and it was the one day that I told all the former Ms. Wheelchair Washington’s to break out their sashes and crown’s and for one day only- we were all just Ms. Wheelchair Washington’s celebrating our birthdays, our accomplishments and our lives. We were blessed with amazing weather, and it was a hectic afternoon, but so nice to have all Ms. Wheelchair Washington’s get together to share our stories of going to the National Competition, and give advice to Jannette, Ms. Wheelchair Washington 2009. After we had our afternoon of beauty, our local news station, King 5 showed up and took footage of us blowing out the candles on our birthday cake, and it aired that night!! We were so excited that the media came out to help cover our celebration, and help promote the Ms. Wheelchair Washington Program. (I don’t have an online video link to the news report)
I would like to thank my mom Sharry for all her help to make our celebration possible! She catered the get together, helped all of us girls with hair, make-up and primping to put on our sashes and crowns to be ready when the media arrived! Thank you mom!!

Ms. Wheelchair Washington May Birthdays:
Elaine Stefanowicz (1996) – May 5th
Tammy Wilber (2006)- May 7th
Sigrid Laegreid (2007)- May 8th
Meg Paulsen (2008) – May 1st
Jannette Saxton (2009) – May 21st

Press Release

“Everyome Deserves a Hassle Free Experience” ~ Nicole Martini, Ms. Wheelchair Washington 2016 was born with Spina Bifida in San Diego, CA. She moved to the Seattle area in 2011. She has always had a passion for helping others and has a long history of being involved with her community since childhood. She’s an avid swimmer and is a member of Seattle’s Shadow Seals swim team. Advocating is nothing new for Nicole, as she has spent a lifetime advocating for herself as well as championing adaptive sports involvement. She and her husband, Victor, live in beautiful Woodinville. They enjoy raising their pups, Angel and Peanut, and experiencing Pacific Northwest traditions and festivities. In her current position with Alaska Airlines as a Reservation Agent, Nicole helps many travelers who, like her, are wheelchair users, with questions and ultimately reservations. The calls she enjoys the most are people with accessibility questions, as she knows that not everybody has flown or knows what to expect or ask when it comes to airline travel as a wheelchair user. Nicole Martini’s platform title is “Barrier Free Travel- Fight for Flight”. The ultimate goal of Nicole’s platform is to help champion accessible travel by air, making it as comfortable as possible for everyone, but especially for those with mobility issues that she herself can relate to well with. Nicole looks forward to working one on one with Alaska Airlines, along with educating the public, to do just that!”

If you would like Nicole for an event or speaking engagement please email her at mswheelchairwashington@gmail.com

2016 Ms. Wheelchair Washington

Ms. Wheelchair Washington’s May Birthday Celebration Held on May 16th